Swinging door and hardware for mounting the same



Jan. 24, 1967 N. F. GUSTAFSON 3,299,573

SWINGING DOOR AND HARDWARE FOR MOUNTING THE SAME Filed March 31, 1965 INVENTOR. NORMAN F. GUSTAFSON 4 M ,pwymwu/ff yw ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,299,573 SWINGING DOOR AND HARDWARE FOR MOUNTING THE SAME Norman F. Gustafson, West Hartford, Conn., assignor to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn.,.a corporation of Connecticut Filed Mar. 31, 1965, Ser. No. 444,170 3 Claims. (Cl. 49388) This invention generaly relates to a door and more particularly to hardware for mounting a door for swinging movement.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved door installation utilizing hardware which enables the doorway to extend from the floor to the ceil- Another object of the present invention is to provide improved detachable door hardware which automatically compensates for tolerances and irregularities which may occur in the height of doorways.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved door installation which, in addition to being economically assembled, provides for easy removal of the door and presents a completed door installation of attractive and pleasing appearance.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which is exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth, and the scope of the invention is indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side edge view, partly broken away and partly in section, of a preferred embodiment of the door installation of the present invention; 1

FIG. 2 is an exploded isometric view, on a slightly reduced scale, illustrating an upper pivot hinge incorporated in the present invention; and

FIG.-3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2 and illustrating a lower pivot hinge incorporated in the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, apreferred embodiment of the door installation of the present invention is illustrated as comprising a door disposed in a vertical plane for swinging movement toward and away from a position closing a doorway having a frame shown as being provided by a floor 12, a ceiling 14 and a wall (not.

shown). The present door installation is suited for a wardrobe closet, for example, which may be closed off from its associated room by a plurality of swinging doors mounted to a doorway frame such that the doors, when closed, form an end wall surface for the room. For illustrative purposes, the present invention will be described in connection with the single door 10 which is attached to the doorway frame, adjacent top and bottom corners of a side edge of the door 10, by upper and lower pivot hinges respectively designated 16 and 18.

The lower pivot hinge 18 includes two hinge leaves 20 and 22 formed of sheet metal and attachable to the door 10 and the doorway frame respectively. The hinge leaf 22 is a flat plate which may be rigidly secured on the floor or, as illusrtated, on top of a threshold 24 by means of screws (not shown) received in a pair of countersunk openings 26. In the preferred embodiment. an apertured lug 28 formed on the room side edge of the hinge leaf 22 projects horizontally outwardly from the threshold 24 at the lower corner of the doorway so as to be positioned just above the floor or floor covering such as the carpeting 30 shown in phantom in FIG. 1.

The other hinge leaf 20 of the lower pivot hinge 18 has an L-shaped cross section comprising a horizontal door plate 32, which is shaped similarly to hinge leaf 22 de- 3,299,513 Patented Jaii. 24, 1967:

scribed above, and a vertical flange 34 extending upwardly from one side of the door plate 32. The vertical flange 34 is preferably surface mounted on the closet side of the door 10 by screws, such as the flat head wood screw 35 shown in FIG. 1, received in a pair of openings 36 and 38. In the specific illustrated embodiment, the opening 38 is shown as being elongated to provide adjustable positioning of the hinge leaf 20 relative to the door 10. With one screw loosely received in the elongated opening 38 and secured to door 10, the hinge leaf 20 may be adjustably positioned on the door 10 with the horizontal door plate 32 engaging its bottom edge, prior to securing the screw 35 in the opening 36. Then the screw in opening 38 may be drawn up tightly against the vertical flange 34 to rigidly secure hinge leaf 20 to the door 10. The horizontal door plate 32 includes an apertured lug 40 overlying lug 28 for receiving a pivot pin 42 formed for projection downwardly through the hinge leaves. A bushing 44 of nylon type material is positioned in the aperture of lug 40 for receiving the pivot pin 42, the bushing 44 having a lower flanged end .45 between lug 40 and the underlying lug 28. The

; 10 and the doorway frame respectively.

lower end of pivot pin 42 is desirably upset within a countersink (not shown) in the apertured lug 28 whereby the hinge leaves 20 and 22 are secured for pivotal movement and the lower pivot hinge 18 provides both radial and thrust bearing support for the side and gravity loading of the door 10.

The upper pivot hinge 16 likewise includes a pair of sheet metal hinge leaves 46 and 48 attachable to the door More specifically, a first hinge leaf 46 (which is substantially identical to the flat hinge leaf 22 of the lower pivot hinge 18) is edge mounted on the top of door 10 and secured by suitable fasteners such as the wood screw 49. The second hinge leaf 48 of the upper pivot hinge 16 is similar to the L-shaped hinge leaf 20 of the lower pivot hinge 18, except vertical flange 50 (corresponding to the vertical flange 34 described above) is illustrated as extending downwardly from horizontal .plate 52 so as to be screw mounted to a header 54, for example, extending across the top of the doorway. The horizontal plate 52 is positioned above the flat hinge leaf 46 which is thereby nested within the L-shaped hinge leaf 48 when the door 10 is closed.

In order to provide a floor to ceiling door installation which automatically compensates for minor tolerances or irregularities occurring in the height of the doorway so that the horizontal plate 52 of the upper L-shaped hinge leaf 48 lies flat against the ceiling 14 in direct abutting engagement, an elongated vertical pivot pin 56 extends downwardly from lug 58 for projection through opening 60 of lug 62 on the underlying flat hinge leaf 46, which is fixed on the top edge of door 10.

The pivot pin 56 is axially aligned with the pivotal axis of the lower pivot hinge 18 and, in the specific illustrated embodiment of the invention, pivot pin 56 is headless at one end 64, which is received in a notched opening of the lug 58. The end 64 is permanently fixed flush with the upper surface of lug 58, preferably by a riveting operation, there being no projection of the pivot pin 56 above the L-shaped hinge leaf 48 whereby its horizontal plate 52 is adapted to be mounted flat against the ceiling 14. Opposite the end 64 is a threaded end 66 which is freely extendible downwardly through the underlying lug 62.

The elongated pivot pin 56 is of a predetermined length to accommodate tolerances and irregularities which are normally encountered in the height of dorways, such as in a floor to ceiling doorway dimensioned for a plu rality of doors wherein one side of the doorway is higher than the other side. Even under these circumstances,

the door installation of the present invention tends to minimize the difference in height of the sides of the doorway since the uppermost hinge leaf of each door will abut the ceiling surface and the top edges of the doors will be automatically horizontally aligned. Moreover, it will be noted that the described structure additionally compensates for out-of-squa-re doors, for example, as well as for door-to-door variation within a particular size standard.

For receiving the pivot pin 56, a bushing 68 formed of tough, durable, low friction material, such as nylon or Delrin, is received in the opening 60 of lug 62, the bushing 68 having a cylindrical opening which is only slightly larger in diameter than the pivot pin 56 so as to provide firm radial bearing support. The bushing 68- includes a radial flange 70 which is positioned between the lugs 58 and 62 to prevent contact therebetween and to assure smooth pivotal movement of the upper pivot hinge 16.

The upper hinge leaves are secured by means of a safety lock nut such as the elastic stop nut 72 which is fixed to the threaded end 66 of the pivot pin 56 depending below lug 62 of the lower hinge leaf 46, the nut 72 being capped at its bottom for ornamental purposes.

The detachable hinge leaf construction employed in the present invention assure quick and easy door installation and removal. Moreover, the described door hardware provides a variety of different door mountings. For example, if the doorway is formed in a wall, in contrast to a doorway extending entirely across one endof a room with the sides of the doorway being provided by opposite walls of the room, the door may be inset within the doorway frame so as to be mounted flush with the wall or the door may be surface mounted on the wall so as to completely overlap opposite sides of the doorway. Regardless of how the door is mounted, only the pivot pins and their mountings will show on the room side of a closed door, to provide a door installation having an attractive finished appearance.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modifications and adaptations of the structure abovedescribed will become readily apparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a doorway frame including floor and ceiling surfaces defining a bottom and top of a doorway, a door for closing the doorway, and mounting means adjacent top and bottom corners of one side edge of the door for pivotally mounting the door to the doorway frame for swinging movement relative to the top edge of the door and the ceiling surfaces respec tively, the first hinge leaf having a lug outwardly disposed doorway, the mounting means including an upper pivot hinge having first and second hinge leaves fixed on the from the plane of the door, the second hinge leaf lying fiat against the ceiling surface in direct abutting engagement therewith and having a vertical pivot pin freely extending downwardly through an opening formed in the lug of the first hinge leaf for accommodating variations in the height of the doorway relative to the door, the pivot pin having a lower projecting end positioned below the first hinge leaf in underlying relation thereto providing a detachable pivot connection for the first and second hinge leaves facilitating installation and removal of a floor to ceiling door.

2. For use in providing a'floor to ceiling door installation, an upper pivot hinge construction for mounting a door to a doorway frame for swinging movement and comprising first and second hinge leaves engageable with the top edge of a door and a ceiling surface respectively, the first hinge leaf having a horizontal lug adapted to project from the plane of the door, the lug having an opening formed therethrough, a bushing of low friction material received in the opening of the lug, the second hinge leaf having an elongated vertical pivot pin permanently fixed thereto and projecting downwardly therefrom a predetermined distance, the pivot pin having a threaded lower end freely extending through the bushing and positioned in underlying relation to the first hinge leaf, and a lock nut attachable to the lower end of the pivot pin, thereby to provide a detachable hinge construction for accommodating variations in the height of the doorway relative to the door and facilitating the installation and removal of a floor to ceiling door.

3. The upper pivot hinge construction of claim 2 wherein the pivot pin is headless and permanently fixed flush with the upper surface of the second hinge leaf thereby adapting the same to lie flat against a ceiling surface in direct abutting engagement.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,560,255 11/1925 Janes 16135 X 2,923,036 2/1960 Beyrle 20-16 3,059,271 10/1962 Erickson 20-16 X 3,113,649 12/1963 Wargo 189-46 3,141,190 7/1964 'Reiss 16171 FOREIGN PATENTS 227,728 3/1960 Australia.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner. KENNETH DOWNEY, Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION, A DOORWAY FRAME INCLUDING FLOOR AND CEILING SURFACES DEFINING A BOTTOM AND TOP OF A DOORWAY, A DOOR FOR CLOSING THE DOORWAY, AND MOUNTING MEANS ADJACENT TOP AND BOTTOM CORNERS OF ONE SIDE EDGE OF THE DOOR FOR PIVOTALLY MOUNTING THE DOOR TO THE DOORWAY FRAME FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO THE DOORWAY, THE MOUNTING MEANS INCLUDING AN UPPER PIVOT HINGE HAVING FIRST AND SECOND HINGE LEAVES FIXED ON THE TOP EDGE OF THE DOOR AND THE CEILING SURFACES RESPECTIVELY, THE FIRST HINGE LEAF HAVING A LUG OUTWARDLY DISPOSED FROM THE PLANE OF THE DOOR, THE SECOND HINGE LEAF LYING FLAT AGAINST THE CEILING SURFACE IN DIRECT ABUTTING ENGAGEMENT THEREWITH AND HAVING A VERTICAL PIVOT PIN FREELY EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY THROUGH AN OPENING FORMED IN THE LUG OF THE FIRST HINGE LEAF FOR ACCOMMODATING VARIATIONS IN THE HEIGHT OF THE DOORWAY RELATIVE TO THE DOOR, THE PIVOT PIN HAVING A LOWER PROJECTING END POSITIONED BELOW THE FIRST HINGE LEAF IN UNDERLYING RELATION THERETO PROVIDING A DETACHABLE PIVOT CONNECTION FOR THE FIRST AND SECOND HINGE LEAVES FACILITATING INSTALLATION AND REMOVAL OF A FLOOR TO CEILING DOOR. 